


A Puppet's Tale

by Ellabean



Category: Pinocchio (1940), Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:20:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellabean/pseuds/Ellabean
Summary: I decided to rewrite Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, but in the form of the Pinocchio.  Many things were changed and or cut, and some things were added.  This is just for fun, as a kind of writing exercise. If you read it, please feel free to let me know what you think!
Kudos: 1





	1. What is a Child?

Once upon a time, in a land called Michigan, lived a very lonely woman named Ruth. Ruth had a husband, but though she loved him, he did not care for her as he had in their youth. The couple had no children, but two pets - a grey tabby cat and a parakeet - who both lived self-sufficiently and mostly outside, and who required little attention.

She was so lonely, she decided to make herself a son out of wood. Without any carving experience it was difficult to do, but after a while she finally succeeded in making a small mahogany puppet. She named him Macon Dead III after her husband. Ruth loved her little wooden boy, and cared for him almost as one would a real child. She sat him in a small comfortable chair, and dusted him at least twice a day. Sometimes, she would make him move, pretending that he was a real child.

Her husband, Macon II, worried about his wife’s obsession with the puppet. More so, he worried about how it would look to outside society. He would often try to separate them, and regularly worked to convince Ruth to just sell the thing. But his efforts never seemed to prevail, and in the end, Ruth always kept the boy.


	2. Love Itself is Magic

One night, Ruth had recovered her little puppet from the trash after Macon II had thrown him away. She worried that something was truly wrong with her, for she realized that loving an object as she loved Macon III was irrational. She wished with all her might that the boy would become real, so that she could kiss his soft dark skin, and teach him to be the wonderful child she had always dreamed of. But as she watched, the boy stayed false and un-moving. She went to bed that night, still carrying her sadness.

The next morning, when Ruth returned to her puppet’s chair, it was empty. The wooden child nowhere to be seen. She confronted Macon II, but he had not moved the the boy either. Then as she rounded the corner to the kitchen she saw him. Shining brown skin and eyes the same color as the wood he’d been carved from. He looked curiously around the room, taking everything in. Ruth teared up as she realized her wish had come true; Macon III was alive and more beautiful than she could have hoped.

“Oh what a miracle!” Ruth exclaimed, looking down at the child.

“Not a miracle mama, it was magic. The witch turned me into a real boy.”

Despite not knowing who this witch could be, she was grateful, and silently thanked the mysterious force. Ruth immediately began to think of things to feed the child, and how they would care for, and educate him.

When she reached down and picked up Macon III, Ruth noticed a ring of milk around his mouth. She looked over to the cat’s milk bowl to see it was empty, and realized he must’ve drank it all.

She smiled, and teasingly said, “Oh Mr. Milkman, don’t go an’ spoil your dinner now!”

That was when the parakeet, Freddie, who had been sitting in the windowsill, started repeating the name, “Milkman! Milkman!”

 _That could be a cute nickname_ , Ruth thought to herself.

Macon II had just entered the kitchen, and upon hearing Freddie repeat the name, screwed up his face a bit in disgust, but said nothing.


	3. Dreams for the Future

In the time following, Macon Dead II would grow to accept, and almost love the boy as his own son. With no other children, he took this opportunity to have Milkman carry on family traditions. The stoic man tried to teach Milkman in the same manner his father before him had, but Ruth had a strong hold on the boy’s upbringing, and ensured that he stayed as kind and gentle as a boy his age could be.

A story Macon II would often recount to Milkman was about how as a foolish boy, he had once made the mistake of burying some gold in a field. The land was supposed to be magic, and an entire tree of gold, with coins instead of leaves was supposed to have grown. But after years of waiting, it did not. Macon II had been disappointed, but when he could not even relocate the coins he had buried to take them back, he became angry. He vowed that one day he would return with more tools, and dig up the gold that was rightfully his.

Macon had long given up his own search for the gold, but told Milkman where it was, and that if he ever got old enough and strong enough, the boy should go to the field and look for the treasure himself. That he should bring it back for the whole family to use, and bring them back to wealth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I felt inspired so I sketched Ruth and Milkman, and posted it on my Deviantart. This is the link: https://www.deviantart.com/claton36/art/Img-6047-825752918?ga_submit_new=10%3A1578103640  
> it's not super cleaned up, just for fun (like this story) :)


	4. Friends In The City

Milkman continued to grow older, and once he reached the age of six, Ruth decided to send him to school. There was one just a few minutes away on foot, and she wanted him to grow up just as any normal child should. On his first day, she sent him off with a kiss and a bit of lunch.

He had walked this street a few times before, but earlier in the morning with his mother, so there had been many fewer distractions. Milkman was fascinated by the things he saw as he walked. Shops with more food than he had ever seen at one time, just sitting in the window. People and creatures going about their day, popping into shops here and there. Vendors yelling out about the great deals they had “today only!”.

Milkman wondered internally what was so special about today. There were also posters around, telling people to watch out for the Seven Days, a group of violent animals who had been threatening humans, and were even accused of murder.

He stopped by the window of a bakery to smell the baking bread and the sweet-scented fruits. The baker saw him standing there, nose just peeking over the windowsill, and chuckled with a deep hearty voice.

“Here little one,” he said, handing Milkman three small strawberry tarts from the display.

“Thank you so much, sir!” Milkman gave the man the biggest smile he could muster, waved, and continued on his way. He ate one tart whole, then wrapped the other two in a napkin, and stuffed them into his bag.

Only about a minute later, Milkman met a cat who looked about the same age and was wearing the same school uniform. The cat smiled and introduced himself as Guitar. Guitar and Milkman then continued their walk to school together. Milkman, excited to have made his first friend, told Guitar proudly about how he had been brought to life, and how because of this his mother said he’s special. Guitar listened eagerly and was amazed by this feat of magic. Milkman continued about his father burying gold in a field that was supposed to have been magic, but how he’d eventually ended up with nothing.

At this story, Guitar looked intently at Milkman. “Do you think it’s still there?” He asked as soon as Milkman finished the story. The boys stopped walking only a block from the schoolhouse.

“I don’t know, but I think my father would know about it if someone had dug up the field and found all his gold”.

There was a hungry shine to Guitar’s eyes then. He looked around for a second before turning back to Milkman.

“Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t we go look for that treasure now? If you already know where it is, why wait?”

Milkman cocked his head to the side, “We have school...”

“Oh come on! School happens almost every day for years. When we get the chance for something like this, we should go for it!”

Milkman, though unsure, nodded in agreement. “Okay, as long as I’m back in time for dinner I guess. But I think I should get most of it since it’s my father’s”

Guitar grinned wide, “That’s no problem, I’ll be happy with just a coin or two. It's more about the adventure y’know?”

With that, he took off further into the city, and away from the schoolhouse, and motioned for Milkman to follow him.


End file.
